Creature Cafe
by dragontamer ri-chan
Summary: Sakura needs a job. She's just not sure that working in an animal-ear cafe is the best choice. When the clients and even one of her bosses start to hit on her, she's certain that she's in trouble in more ways than one. MultiSaku
1. Chapter 1

A/N: So many story ideas so little time. Speaking of time, I hope this story is worth yours even though the chapter is short. I will try to make longer chapters but today this was all I could manage.

Disclaimer: The characters are not mine!

Creature Café

Chapter 1: Getting the Job

Sakura sighed as she walked into the building where her job interview was being conducted. It was the cutest place she'd ever seen. Don't get her wrong she liked cute, loved it in fact, but the workers weren't known for being cute. The female workers were _famous_ for being _scorching hot_. Sakura didn't believe she was anywhere near their league.

The only person who honestly told her she was pretty without ulterior motives was her godmother Tsunade. Everyone else wanted something from her. Her parents died when she was 3 years old so people were usually after her inheritance. They didn't know that she couldn't even look at that money until she was 21. Now that she was 18 she felt the need to help Tsunade any way she could rather than live off her like a leech.

Sakura took a deep breath and entered the enormous yet cute shop. As soon as she entered she knew something was off. There was no one there other than a man who was going through menus. He was facing away from her and his hair style was a bit feminine, but no woman could have such muscles unless she was on steroids. She decided to try her luck with the man. She went around the little table where he was arranging menus and tried to get his attention without speaking. She quickly gave up.

"Excuse me." Sakura said bending down to look him in the face and tilting her head to the side to get a better look at his face.

"Hold on a minute, yeah." He replied as he glanced up to see who was daring to disturb him. When his eyes met hers he froze. Her posture was completely unguarded, her face was like an open book, and her exquisite emerald eyes shined with innocence. The moment he laid eyes on her he was helpless to control his next actions.

He screamed "KAWAII" at the top of his lungs as he pounced on her. He didn't even know what had possessed him to practically attack her when no woman or man had ever had this effect on him before. He just knew he needed to see if that skin was as smooth as it looked. He needed to know if there was any hair softer or more unique than hers. So far she was a perfect original.

Apparently the girl he was openly molesting had enough when his hand went to stroke her unblemished face once more. She punched him so hard that he was seeing kittens bounding around his head. When the kittens started fade he began to hear the insistent tapping of high heels making their way towards him.

"Wow you really laid him out didn't you? May I ask who you are and what you're doing here besides giving my older brother a well deserved beating?" A tall blond woman asked. The resemblance to her brother was obvious. In fact it was a wonder they weren't twins. Everything was similar from their hairstyles to their faces. Aside from their build which was completely opposite one another, what differences they had were subtle. The man's face was more masculine where as his sister had a more feminine face. Their eyes were just barely two different shades of blue, and the woman's blond hair was paler than the man's.

"For the record, I was just defending myself. He jumped me out of nowhere!" Sakura cried a desperately. She really did not want to go to jail.

"You can relax. I just want to know if you are my interviewee. That's my idiot brother, Deidara, and I'm Ino Yamanaka. We run the café together." Ino said reassuringly. However this only caused Sakura even more distress. It's bad enough that she punched a guy, but now that guy was her prospective boss if she didn't go to jail.

"I'm thinking I should just leave." Sakura stated dejectedly. This caused Deidara to shoot up from his position on the floor.

"What do you mean you're going to leave (yeah)?" Both blondes demanded at the same time. It was kind of creepy.

Deidara was the first to recover. "You can't leave yet! I don't even know your name, yeah!" He exclaimed rather desperately.

Ino stood in shock. Deidara had _never _acted this way over anyone before. She thought he was asexual. A Cheshire cat grin overtook her face. She now knew the perfect way to torment Deidara.

"Why would you want to leave when you're so perfect for the job?" Ino inquired putting on her business face. Deidara immediately rounded on her.

"No Ino I forbid it! She would be eaten alive by our customers. I won't allow it!" Deidara shouted. There was no way he was letting _his_ innocent little angel deal with the perverts who came here. It's true that he had grown attached to her rather quickly but Deidara was an excellent judge of character. He knew that if this girl could fake the innocence and adorableness that he had seen she would be a world famous actress.

Ino smiled slyly. She was two steps ahead of Deidara. She went over to him and whispered to him so Sakura couldn't hear. "Look Deidara, I'm just watching out for my brother's first crush. Think about it. Do you have a way to get her here every single day? Yes those pigs we serve will hit on her but they won't be here all the time like you are. This way you will have the best chance with her!" Oh yeah, Ino would have a great time seeing Deidara run himself ragged for the girl.

"Excuse me, I'm sorry for not introducing myself earlier but my name is Sakura Haruno. Are you sure you want me for this job? I mean I just punched your brother."

"I know. It was on the resume you sent me along with your picture. Now Sakura," Ino began while putting on her serious face. "My brother and I both think that you would be perfect for the job just from what we witnessed earlier. You are cute enough to enchant anyone if you could charm Deidara into forgetting his gentlemanly disposition. At the same time you are fierce enough to defend yourself should any customer get too frisky. Provided all goes well, as it usually does, you will never have the need to protect yourself with security right there with you. The only reason I bring it up is because our customers are getting smarter and I don't want them taking you by surprise."

This got Deidara fired up again. "Like _HELL_ I'll let that happen!" He ranted. As soon as he lost his "Yeah" again Ino knew she better intervene so she whacked him upside the head.

"We are trying to conduct an interview!" Ino hissed at her bird-brained brother. He just whimpered because she had hit his sore spot from when he was knocked down by Sakura's punch.

Thinking of the fire in Sakura's eyes as she hit him made him forget his pain and start thinking how great it would be to see her every day. "Sakura-chan do you know why our café is so different from others, yeah?" He practically purred.

"Yamanaka-_san_, I did do my homework. Your café is famous for the different experiences it can offer and the many different women who dress up like animals. The first floor is decorated to look like a jungle and has the widest variety of animals. The second floor is decorated to look like a villa in the countryside with different kinds of animals but a lower variety. Finally you have the third floor which is decorated to look like a penthouse suite looking over the city it has the lowest variety of animals but it has the best artwork and as a special treat to those who dine there, the waitresses dress in maid outfits in addition to their animal uniform." To say that Deidara was impressed was putting it mildly. She almost knew more about the café than he did, almost.

"Then do you accept the job Sakura-chan?" His sister cut in before he could say a word.

Sakura looked hesitant again so Deidara decided to turn up the charm. He tentatively knelt before her and kissed the knuckles of her hand while never taking his eyes from hers. He stood still holding her hand and moved closer to her giving her a dazzling smile. "It would be a great honor to work with you yeah. Don't worry about the animal thing. You'll get used to it yeah. If you ever don't feel safe you can come to me and I'll assign our most qualified security guards to protect you yeah. If you say yes then you can leave the rest up to my sister and me. We can settle the matters of your pay and which floor you would like to work on at your convenience yeah." Deidara murmured to her tenderly.

Sakura still looked hesitant but this time she voiced her doubts. "You two will hire me? Just like that? Are you certain about this?" She questioned making the two blondes smile softly at her and nod. "Alright you win. I accept the job." She sighed when she was immediately tackled by both blonds in a bear hug. She had a feeling she was going to regret this but at the moment she just could not bring herself to. "What animal will I be?"

Deidara and Ino both thought hard when Deidara came up with the idea. "Let's see you're cuter than a kitten but you also have sharp little claws when you're threatened. I'd say we have a winner."

"What do you mean?" Sakura asked suspiciously.

Deidara grinned like a madman. "You Sakura are a kitten."

-The next day-

After Deidara proudly proclaimed that Sakura was a kitten, it was decided that she would where black cat ears and tail. Ino immediately had an idea of what Sakura should wear to the café as her "uniform" and according to Deidara, if Sakura didn't go along with the idea it would die of lonesomeness. That's right. Ino took Sakura on a shopping spree.

At first Sakura didn't know how she was going to pay for everything. At the unfamiliar store Ino took her to, a top cost about as much as an apartment. Ino just kept throwing things at Sakura for her to try on while keeping some stuff for herself. When Sakura finally admitted she couldn't afford any of this stuff, Ino just laughed it off.

"Don't be silly Sakura! Creature Café doesn't make its employees pay for their uniforms. Now I'm giving you these clothes as an investment. I'm investing in your ability to work it!" Ino cried dramatically. No one paid her any mind because she was such a frequent customer that most of them were used to it.

"Work what Ino?" Sakura questioned innocently tilting her head to the side to show she didn't quite understand. Ino's hand flew to her face making a light smacking sound.

"Oh good grief we have so much work to do. Don't worry Sakura. You'll understand everything by tonight. They don't call Deidara "The Drill Sergeant" for nothing!" Ino replied confidently.

The rest of the day was spent teaching Sakura how to "work it." Deidara acted exasperated but was secretly glad that Sakura wasn't a practiced seductress. It made her that much more appealing to him. He had already lined up security guards where Sakura would be working. He had recommended that Sakura start off on the easiest floor. The second floor also known as the countryside villa had the least perverted men and Sakura could get away with a sexy tube top shirt and skinny-jeans. That was the least revealing outfit that Ino had gotten for her.

However Ino wanted Sakura on the first floor a.k.a. Jungle Mayhem. Deidara instantly protested, but Sakura insisted that she could handle it and that way it would cut the training time down. If she didn't have to climb stairs tonight then Deidara wouldn't have to teach her how in the many different outfits she wasn't used to wearing while holding a weighted tray steady. She had no way of knowing that what she would face in Jungle Mayhem would be _much_ worse than Deidara's stair training.

A/N: For those of you who aren't sure, this is a MultiSaku fiction. More men come into play in the next chapter. Thank you to all who have been and continue to be patient with me. I most likely don't deserve it, but I'm grateful never the less. Take care my dear readers!


	2. Jungle Fever

A/N: I have finished my first year of college! I thank you all for your patience with me. Here's a chapter to celebrate. I think this is my longest one yet.

Disclaimer: The characters are not mine!

Creature Café

Chapter 2: Jungle Fever

Sasuke Uchiha is not someone who would go out of his way to court a girl. That didn't mean he wasn't good at it; he just didn't enjoy. It was tedious and boring and the end result was an overly clingy girl. He did not like it at all.

Even when he sees a woman who looks like she might be able to hold his attention, she ruins it by being some sort of slut. Honestly why should he bother? This one opinion was the only thing he and his boss agreed on, so it was shocking when his boss, Deidara, came to him and demanded that he, the chief of security at Creature Café, make it a priority to protect a newbie waitress.

The first thing that came to mind was whether or not he was being demoted, but when Deidara introduced Sasuke to the girl, he saw what was really going on. Deidara was infatuated. It was obvious from the way he looked and acted towards her.

Deidara was _always_ rough on new employees even if they came from greater wealth or better families. Yet with this new girl he acted as though she could break if he looked at her too much. Sasuke had no idea that shy was in Deidara's vocabulary, but he still could barely even look at this Sakura girl without smiling timidly. Sasuke had not once seen Deidara act the way he did now.

"Excuse me Sasuke-san? Are you alright? If you don't want to do this I understand and I'm sure we can find someone else." Sakura reassured the male whose handsome face was fixed in a scowl. Sakura found it cruel really. Even the _men_ that worked here were more beautiful than her. Now Sasuke was looking at her with perplexed eyes.

Sasuke was stunned. Though it wasn't enough to alter his facial expression it was still quite shocking when this girl just read him so easily. Of course he didn't want to waste time overseeing the safety of one girl, but anyone at this café who would have managed to guess that wouldn't have cared. It was the boss' orders after all. Actually most of the girls that worked here would have squealed in delight to have him protecting them. To find someone so different from the norm was refreshing.

Deidara glared at the damn Uchiha. How dare he act like this job would be unpleasant and make Sakura uncomfortable. It's not like he was making any less money. The brat should be grateful he even managed to find work in this café. Deidara had not wanted to hire him, but Ino insisted he work here. Deidara received additional pressure from Itachi as well. He really hated how he was so easily intimidated by Itachi.

"Don't worry about Sasuke, Sakura. He's always like this yeah." Deidara stated with a grin. He was about to put his arm around her as a message to Sasuke, but he retracted the arm when he heard the insistent tapping of his sister's heels approaching.

"Sakura, let's go pick out your outfit! I see you've met Sasuke. That's great! Okay while the boys talk security, we'll go get you ready and talk boys!" Ino affirmed proudly. Without further ado she dragged an unwilling Sakura up to her dressing room, already thinking of what she should have Sakura wear.

"Sakura"

"Yes Ino"

"You're too sexy for this shirt. Why do you wear it?" Ino asked holding up the green hoodie sweatshirt that Sakura would wear as soon as it was washed because it was comfortable.

"Believe it or not Ino, some people prefer comfort over fashion when you can't choose both. What are you doing?" Sakura wondered as Ino dived away from her.

"I'm waiting for the lightning to strike you for such a sacrilegious statement." Ino squeaked as a shoe was thrown at her.

"Ino, sacrilege implies that there is some sort of religion involved. I don't think that you should use it over fashion." Sakura snorted. For some reason, she had an easier time calling Ino by her first name than Deidara despite them both being her bosses. Though Deidara had pleaded with her to call him by name without honorifics, she just couldn't. It seemed too intimate to call a boy like that.

"Sakura, fashion _is_ my religion." Ino declared completely serious and somewhat proud. "Anyway Sakura, who do you like better?"

"I'm not even sure I know who you're talking about." Sakura replied.

"I'm talking about my brother and Sasuke. Who do you like better?" Ino reiterated.

Sakura pouted. "I'm not fond of either one. I don't like men who are prettier than me." With that Sakura crossed her arms and continued to pout. This caused Ino to do an evil laugh mixed with giggles of delight. Frankly Sakura was creeped out. Ino was devising a devious plan.

-With Sasuke and Deidara-

"Do you understand?" Deidara asked in a stern voice.

"It's very simple from where I stand boss. You want me to beat any man that touches that girl to a bloody pulp." Sasuke retorted.

"That's exactly right yeah." Deidara replied going back to his bubbly self. That is until he saw the reservations in the area that Sakura was going to be serving. He was starting her off with two tables to wait on but had made the mistake of allowing Ino to choose the tables. She had chosen tables with one pervert and one ice bitch ... each. Did he mention they were all men with fan clubs? He needed to have a long talk with his sister.

Meanwhile Sasuke was lost in thought. He may be reading too much into it but he was beginning to think he and that Sakura girl were compatible. She was the first woman to ever read him and better yet she hadn't clung to him the moment she saw him. She even tried to see to his needs first though she had probably wanted him to guard her. He was beginning to see this job as a good opportunity to find out more about her. That way he would be able to tell if he was getting his hopes up.

Sasuke was beginning to form a plan to test her ability to resist his charms when the subject of his thoughts arrived in the most tantalizing outfit he had ever seen. The first word to pop into his mind was _tease._ That was exactly what she looked like in the outfit that almost dared him to touch and see what happens.

Meanwhile Deidara was having a similar reaction. The only difference was that he already had some clay in his hands and was working it into exactly what he was seeing. Sakura in a black v-neck tank top that had lavender roses starting at the point of the v-neckline and climbing their way upwards along both sides of the neckline and making a curved turn once they reached the sides of the top, then slanted down to meet once more at the bottom of the shirt. Taking a closer look, both boys noticed that the roses made a heart shape. Lavender flower petals mixed with leaves decorated her appealing assets here and there and were obviously meant to highlight them while the heart outlined them. The top gave the boys a taunting glimpse of cleavage that was just enough to drive _both_ of them wild though Sasuke was doing a great job not showing.

Then there was the miniskirt. Compared to the top it was simple yet it looked so perfect on her that neither man could bring themselves to care. It was completely black with the hem dancing just below mid-thigh accentuating the length and creamy color of her legs. On the sides of the skirt were two thin silver chains that rested along her hips, showing off their shape. All in all her body was that of a goddess'.

To go along with the divine theme that seemed to be going on with this woman, her face was that of an angel's. She had a light dusting of makeup on her cheeks to bring out their natural rosy hue while her eye-shadow was the same color as the roses on her shirt. The combination of colors on her eyes was gorgeous, but nothing could compare to her lightly glossed coral pink lips tilted upwards in a shy smile. They were just bright enough to catch and keep a man's full attention and they were doing their job a little too well.

The two handsome men, who had seen many a lovely lady during their young lives and shrugged it off, could not take their eyes off the vision of perfection in front of them. Deidara couldn't decide if he was happy at finding such a diamond-in-the-rough or guilty at feeding her to a pack of perverted beasts plus two ice bitches. At least Sasuke would be there too.

_Great, I'm feeding her to three ice bitches now._ Deidara mentally noted just as the first customers of the evening arrived.

Sakura bolted upstairs at the first ring of the front bell. She did not want more people to see her like this than necessary. It was mortifying enough having her boss and coworker gawk at her the moment she was in view. She was hoping that the customers tonight would be more preoccupied with other women. Now she wasn't so sure.

-Later that night-

"Hey come on Gaara. Lighten up! We're here to relax, remember? You shouldn't be doing paperwork at the table. It's kind of rude." A young, blonde, blue eyed, tanned skin, and whisker marked man spoke to his friend as they sat at their table. This unusual young man's name is Naruto Uzumaki. He was the creator of the biggest ramen chain in Japan known as Ichiraku. It was incredible considering he was only a year or two older than Sakura.

Across from him sat 19 year old Gaara Sabaku. He has wild red hair, light green eyes, and a love tattoo on his forehead. Both men had muscles on their muscles since they've been in quite a few street fights each despite being renowned business geniuses.

That was how they met. It was the first time in a fight where they had to call it a draw. They had been best friends ever since. These two would be Sakura's first customers.

When Naruto complained about the paperwork thing again Gaara simply looked up at him with an apathetic face. "Do you really think I'm going to take lessons in manners from you?" Gaara smirked at the fuming Naruto.

While Naruto was yelling at Gaara, two men that were sitting not too far away were having their own conversation about the two. 19 year old Kiba Inuzuka was exerting enormous effort to not crack up at the two friends that could easily be mistaken for a comedy duo. The young man was rugged with brown hair going in every direction possible. He had black eyes, tanned skin, bulging muscles, and red fang tattoos on his cheeks.

Kiba just finished high school, but had been seen as a professional dog breeder since age 16. He didn't breed just any dogs. Kiba bred champions. It had made him quite famous, not to mention he loved dogs, so he felt as though this was his life's calling.

20 year old Neji Hyuuga rolled his eyes at Naruto's behavior. He couldn't help but let a few chuckles escape though. Naruto was simply great entertainment.

The Hyuuga is a male model, one of the best. His silver eyes that held just the slightest purple tint drove women mad all across the world. He had a pale complexion and long coffee colored hair he tied low. His body was well muscled but they were lean and toned muscles that were different from Kiba's bulky build. Neji had been given the nickname "Prince" due to his gentlemanly mannerisms and beautiful looks.

Suddenly Neji was choking on air. Across the room, making her way towards Naruto's table was Sakura Haruno in an outfit he was not used to seeing her in. The outfit was not completely indecent like some of the clothes around here, but it was probably the sexiest thing in the room due solely to its wearer. It didn't help his hormones that she also happened to be his secret love interest.

Sakura Haruno had trained at the same dojo as Neji's cousin, Hinata Hyuuga, and they became fast friends. Neji had surpassed the instructors of the dojo and left at age 15, but he was not above going there and giving pointers to some of the students. The only person he was unable to give pointers to was Sakura. Her fighting style was unique and flawless. She made the most difficult katas look effortless. She was calm, precise, smooth, adaptable, and most of all determined. When Neji watched her spar for the first time, he was enchanted. She had looked as though she was dancing for about 10 seconds and it was over. She had taken down an opponent bigger and stronger than she was in 10 seconds. From that moment on he knew he was in love.

He did not want other men to see her in that outfit, but from what his sharp eyes were telling him, it was too late. Naruto was openly gaping at her and in a shadowed corner he detected a security guard he recognized as Sasuke Uchiha. The Uchiha was practically undressing her with his eyes while her back was turned. He and Sasuke went to the same middle school and high school. They had been competing since they first met and from the looks of it, they were still competing. Only this time they were contending for something more important.

Sakura blushed as she made her way to the table where a handsome blonde man was openly staring at her. She noticed that an equally handsome redhead was sitting at the table as well but thankfully he wasn't paying attention to her. Of course, Ino would have her head if she found out that Sakura didn't even try to flirt, so she better turn up the charm.

"Good evening gentlemen. I'm Sakura and I'll be serving you this evening. Can I get you anything to drink?" Sakura purposely lowered her voice while keeping it smooth as melted chocolate. It drove Naruto so wild he could hardly stand it.

Gaara hadn't noticed anyone come to the table due to his focus on his work. He was startled when he heard the voice and was surprised when it affected him. What gave him the biggest shock however was looking up to find a blushing innocent looking woman in a not so innocent outfit. He found that she was also a beautiful woman to begin with. Pair that with her outfit and he didn't think he'd be getting any work done tonight. That didn't stop him from looking back at his paperwork to hide his blush.

"Well hello to you too sexy lady. I think I'll skip the drink since I just found a tall drink of water." Naruto shamelessly flirted with the woman who was so out of her element. All she could do to hide her surprise at his interest was laugh lightly at the lame pickup line. Both men were taken by surprise when their stomachs started doing flips at the melodic sound.

"Naruto just hurry up and order a drink." Gaara demanded. For reasons he couldn't fathom he did not enjoy seeing Naruto flirting with this woman.

"Gaara don't be jealous just because Sakura-chan and I are made for each other." Naruto retorted.

"Gaara-sama, what can I get you to drink?" Sakura asked smiling at the redhead. Naruto's stomach acted up again and Gaara's heart was starting to pound faster than it ever had.

_How is this woman influencing me so much? I don't know anything about her!_ Gaara ruminated. This was the first time he'd felt like this. When he looked up at her again he got trapped in her eyes for a moment before he realized that she was still waiting for his order.

"I'll have some hot tea." He stated still unable to look away.

"Now, Naruto-sama, are you ready to get serious and order an actual drink?" Sakura asked looking at Naruto with an eyebrow raised. Now Gaara was really interested. Though his pickup lines were lame and overused, girls flocked to Naruto due to his wealth, power, and looks. However this girl just brushed it off. She was different, and better yet, she was interesting.

"I'm always serious Sakura-chan and please just call me Naruto!" Naruto told her causing Gaara to snort at the lie. Naruto glared at his friend, but decided to order before he got Sakura in trouble. "I'll have a coffee Sakura-chan."

"For everyone's sake please make that decaf." Gaara pleaded dead serious. Sakura burst into a fit of muffled laughter. She had agonized over what kind of people they would be. Though they were supposed to be snobby business men in her mind she was delighted to be proven wrong. Who knew she would be waiting on comedy routine?

"I hope you two don't mind me saying this but you don't seem like the other customers at all. I dare say that I'm far more relaxed around you two than I imagined I would be." Sakura stated with a warm and soft look in her eye that neither man was used to seeing. They had seen looks of jealousy and even hatred in the eyes of other men and rejected women and lust in the eyes of women who didn't know them, but never had they seen the look in the eyes that both wanted to get lost in.

_I could get used to that look._ They both thought simultaneously. Naruto was the first to recover from his trance like state.

"I'm glad you feel that way Sakura-chan! I certainly don't want my future girlfriend uncomfortable around me!" He exclaimed causing Gaara to glare at him.

As she sauntered off to the next table the residual sound of her laughter haunted them both.

As Sakura was making her way to the next table across the room, she was taken by surprise when she was pulled around a corner into a shadowed alcove. Her surprise doubled when she saw Sasuke Uchiha looking at her with a hint of concern in his eyes though his face held no expression. _First the comical business men and now a man I barely even know is concerned about me. Will wonders never cease?_ Sakura mused as she was once again taken over by envy at how beautiful this man was.

"You're not used to wearing heels are you? You can rest a bit here. I'm sure the bosses won't mind if I tell them that you need to work just the one table tonight." Sasuke stated with a shrug.

Sakura was touched. She thought that he found her an annoyance but here he was going out of his way to help her out. Her feet did hurt from walking around in heals after the training she went through, but she had no intention of letting that stop her or even slow her down. She had asked for this job and she was going to earn her pay. _Keep your eyes on the prize._ She thought to herself.

Sasuke was once again taken by surprise when she smiled softly at him. "Thank you Sasuke-san. I really appreciate you looking out for me, but I'm the one who wanted this job. If I slack off on the first day I'll never be able to keep it. I'll take care of both tables. I may not look it but once I set my mind to something, I don't back down." With that Sakura stood prepared to get back out there and endure the pain, but she was once again stopped by Sasuke.

Without a word Sasuke pulled a box from under the chair she sat on and carefully removed one of the high heeled shoes then the other. Once that was done he opened the box to reveal simple black flats. When he placed them on her feet the difference in comfort was so drastic Sakura could have cried tears of joy.

Sasuke observed her reaction carefully. "As much as I would like to take credit for this it was Deidara who got these prepared. I can honestly say though that we both want you to be comfortable. Besides, many of the customers would like to see a petite girl like you walking around." Sasuke said nonchalantly. For this entire exchange he had remained expressionless but his heart seemed intent on racing itself and pounding faster and faster in the presence of the green eyed beauty. However his mask completely fell apart when she hugged him. His face melted into a pleased smirk and then an actual smile as his arms wrapped themselves around her tiny waist.

"Thanks for looking out for me." With that said she pulled out of the embrace and walked away. She was off to serve the next table no doubt and she didn't even realize how much she shocked Sasuke by simply stepping out of his arms.

Kiba was completely slack-jawed at the goddess walking towards him. His heart kicked into overdrive and he immediately went into flirt mode. "Hey there, Angel, you should have told me you were falling from heaven. I would have been there to catch you." Kiba proclaimed with a mischievous grin accompanied by a wink. The next thing he knew, he felt someone delivering a sharp kick to him under the table.

"What the hell was that for Neji?" Kiba demanded. He did not appreciate the bruising or swelling that was taking place on his shin. What pissed him off more was the fact that Neji was just sitting there looking over the menu and looking far too innocent.

Sakura had been hoping her eyes were lying when they saw Neji Hyuuga sitting at the table. She could officially consider her hopes crushed. Now Sakura had to flirt with one of her only guy friends. This would be the definition of awkward.

Sakura bent to whisper in Neji's ear. "Neji-sama there is no need to come to my defense when you know that I'm capable of handling myself." Sakura scolded. Neji immediately stiffened. First seeing her in that outfit and now having her hot breath on his face was quickly becoming too much to handle. After all he had never known this side of Sakura. It was more alluring than he could have dreamed.

Sakura misinterpreted Neji's sudden stiffness and briefly ran her hand along his shoulder hoping to loosen him up. Neji, who was known for his control, had to exert all his effort and focus on not jumping her then and there. Kiba on the other hand was trying not to mimic Neji's earlier actions and kick the silver-eyed man under the table. He was beginning to wonder why he was resisting the urge.

"Wait a minute! Are you telling me you already know each other?" Kiba questioned angrily. Neji merely smirked at him. However anger vanished when Sakura turned her gorgeous green eyes on him and smiled gently at him.

"Don't worry Kiba-sama. I promise not to neglect you." Sakura stated returning his earlier wink. For the first time ever, Kiba felt his insides melt into goo. This girl was something else.

"You know I don't think I caught your name." Kiba mumbled with a blush on his face.

"Well I don't mind you calling me Angel but I respond best to Sakura or Sakura-chan." Sakura told him while shrugging nonchalantly.

"So you're named for cherry blossoms? It suits you." Kiba proclaimed with a lovesick grin. Neji couldn't help but notice that he was not the only one glaring at Kiba when Sakura smiled innocently back at him.

_It's on._ Neji mentally declared.


	3. Confrontations

A/N: Thank you to all the people supporting this story. I'm really sorry I've been slow with the updates. Just know that I have my reasons and that I'm doing my best. Without further ado, enjoy.

Disclaimer: The characters are not mine!

Chapter 3: Confrontations

"Ms. Haruno, you have another delivery." The delivery boy stated causing Sakura to sigh. This was another bouquet to add to the growing jungle in her house. It was really starting to look like Jungle Mayhem.

"I'm really sorry Seiji." Sakura apologized again for all the trouble those accursed men had put him through and yes; she was on a first name basis with the delivery boy. You would be too if you had seen him as often as she had. It had to be a great deal of trouble to make several deliveries _a day_ to the same house for the past week.

"Why are you apologizing Ms. Haruno? You're the reason our shop stays open." Seiji laughed. He didn't notice the man on the street corner taking pictures of them, but Sakura did. She had a feeling she knew who it was too.

According to Ino, Deidara decided to try and stalk her even when she was away from the job. He hired a private investigator to follow her every move. Can you say creepy? Ever since she started the job exactly seven days ago he'd watch her at work and let someone else do it when she was away from that evil occupation.

Sakura just sighed. She felt so guilty because of that first night on the job. She shouldn't even be the one feeling at fault here! She had flirted with them as part of a _profession_! She didn't think she did anything to even attempt to acquire Deidara's and Sasuke's affection. She had known that Deidara was attracted to her but Sasuke was another story. She hadn't realized a damn thing until he took her aside on the third night of her job and started to kiss her.

She had been tending to a customer that was drunk and frisky when Sasuke intervened by nearly snapping the man's hands off. Then he told Sakura it was time for her break. She went to her alcove where Sasuke had first shown concern for her wellbeing.

He had told her that no one goes to said alcove because it's the security guards' space. Sakura had wondered aloud if it was okay for her to be there, but Sasuke just shrugged and said it was fine. She had replied with alright and a trusting smile. She had no idea that the smile did him in.

Sasuke's lips were on hers in a heartbeat. Sakura was wide eyed and stunned. There were a few customers who tried to force a kiss on her, but Sasuke or Deidara always intervened. She stiffened when his tongue glided across her bottom lip and he moaned so softly that she felt it more than heard it.

Sakura put her hands to his chest and applied pressure. She knew one thing for certain. There was nothing she could do to truly stop Sasuke and it terrified her. As if sensing her fear, he backed off.

_-Flashback-_

"_Damn it Sakura, you have _no idea_ what you do to me! I've known you for three days and it's been torture trying and failing to get your attention. I have been watching over you and protecting you without complaint. You're the only girl I've ever truly _wanted_ to protect. I wanted you to fall for me before I made a move, but it's like I lose my common sense when you're around!" Sasuke declared pressing his forehead to hers._

_Before anymore could be said they heard Deidara's voice calling for her. As quickly as he came Sasuke disappeared. Later that night, Sakura ate at the café rather than going out to eat somewhere else. She was about to go see about snagging some food from the kitchen when Ino came to get her._

"_Please come with me Sakura." Ino led her to the top floor and over to a beautiful candle lit meal complete with an orchid to further decorate the table. The meal was medium rare venison and roasted potatoes with fresh vegetables on the side. In short, it was Sakura's favorite dish so far._

_Completely shocked for the second time that night, she turned to Ino who was grinning broadly at her. "I don't know what you did to Sasuke, but keep doing it. I've never seen him apologize for anything!" Ino exclaimed._

"_This was an apology?" Sakura inquired._

"_See for yourself." Ino commanded pointing to a small but lovely card on the table. There was a single message inscribed on it._

I'm sorry for scaring you.

-Sasuke

_-End flashback-_

Sakura put her latest flower arrangement in one of the only spaces left available in her apartment. She nearly jumped out of her skin when there came an insistent knocking on the door. At first she just ignored it, but then it got louder and louder until she thought the door was going to break. Before it could she moved to open it.

There in front of her stood a tall, dark haired man, with two lines running down his face. He also happened to have the same eyes as Sasuke and the resemblance didn't end there. Most women in her position would have swooned at the drool worthy man on her doorstep. Sakura cursed her bad luck.

"Oh God, this can't be good." Sakura groaned out loud.

"I take it you know why I'm here then." The stranger said causing Sakura to snort.

"I don't even know who you are!" Sakura cried.

"Under the circumstances I highly doubt that, but I'll humor you. I'm Itachi Uchiha, owner of Uchiha corporations. You're Sakura Haruno. Let's get on with this shall we?" Itachi said with an agitated tone. When he moved to enter the apartment Sakura blocked him. "Now what do you want?" He demanded.

"Excuse me? First I would like an apology for basically being called a liar. Second I want you to get the hell out of my doorframe so I can shut the door." Let it be known that Sakura Haruno is pushed around by no person, not even an intimidating and sexy as hell man.

Itachi let out a bark of harsh laughter. "_If_ you really don't know who I am or what I'm doing here even after I introduced myself, then you are truly a stupid girl. I'll speak plainly. You may have succeeded in stealing Sasuke's heart, but that is the only thing you will steal from this family." Itachi growled taking several steps forward and forcing Sakura to back into the apartment. Sakura looked shocked. Itachi's handsome face snarled at her. "Your tricks and innocent act won't work on me." Before he could continue his verbal abuse Sakura slapped him hard.

It was the first time a woman had hit him. For an instant he felt a pang of guilt for the way he was treating her and the tears in her eyes, but the guilt vanished the moment he took another look around the room. It was wall to wall bouquets when Sasuke had ordered seven for Sakura. He ordered one for each day he knew her, six in the past three days and one for today. This woman had over 24 flower arrangements in her small apartment. No doubt about it, she was toying with Sasuke's heart and the hearts of several other wealthy men for their money.

"I WON'T TAKE THIS! What right do you have to come in here, insult me, and accuse me of stealing? Then you go and say that my _fear_ of you is some kind of act? The only reason you scare me is because of what Sasuke did, but at least I know that _he_ wouldn't intentionally hurt me like this! On top of that, I don't know you because he never mentioned you. I had no clue he even had a brother!" Sakura shouted at him. She cried harder when he just clapped.

"You're a very good actress Ms. Sakura. One of the best I'd wager. If I got you a job as a leading actress would you leave Sasuke alone? You would then be wealthy in your own right. What _Sasuke_ did to you? Are you referring to how you managed to get him to kiss you? Was it not all just a sick game of yours to steal the hearts of _six_ wealthy men?" Itachi hissed by her ear, but Sakura refused to back down anymore no matter how terrifying this man was.

"If anyone is playing with hearts it's those men." Sakura replied with tears still streaming down her face.

"You expect me to believe you with the proof of their affections scattered across the room. These are the finest flower arrangements I've ever seen."

"Thank you. Ino taught me well and I've had lots of material to work with."

"What in blazes are you talking about?" Itachi asked.

"I'm telling you I took a flower from each bouquet and turned it into my own arrangement. Ino said I had a lot of natural talent so I decide to try it. Arranging flowers is one of the tasks assigned to the waitresses at the café." Sakura clarified.

"Why would you do something like that?" It was getting harder and harder on Itachi to keep up the accusations and sarcasm. He was not used to cruelty to women. He was just trying to protect Sasuke.

"I may not love those boys the way they want me to, but that doesn't mean I don't care about them as friends. Deidara is always the first to compliment me when I don't deserve it. Naruto and Gaara can always make me laugh. Kiba's a shameless flirt, but also a teddy bear. Neji has been my best guy friend for years. Sasuke has the skill and brute strength to force me into submission, but as I said before, he would never use it to hurt me." Sakura listed them off and her favorite traits about them.

"You learned that about them in seven days?" Itachi asked feeling his anger abandon him and leaving regret and exhaustion in its place.

"Actually I learned most of that on the first day of the job. Sasuke took a little longer but that was only three days. Contrary to what you may believe, I'm not stupid."

"I guess not, but it means I'm a fool." Itachi said morosely, hanging his head.

"Yes but you're not a bad guy. You were just trying to protect your brother and I can't be mad at you for that." At this Itachi's head snapped up. "I told you I'm not stupid. I figured it out because our conversation kept coming back to Sasuke."

"I'm not surprised you figured it out, just stunned that you're willing to forgive me. Hell, I wouldn't forgive me and don't tell me you're not still hurt from what I said." Itachi stated he was beginning to see a lot to like in this woman, and that was the last thing either of them wanted.

"Oh I am still hurting from this little talk we had. If I denied that I really would be a liar. Forgive and forget is what they say. Anger and hatred aren't good for anybody. It's a proven fact." Sakura declared. To prove her point she took a dark purple flower from a vase and offered it to Itachi. "Here you go a peace offering." Dumbfounded, Itachi could only take the flower with a mumbled thanks and a blush on his face as she smiled innocently up at him despite the leftover wetness on her face.

It was the straw that broke the camel's back. The smile shattered Itachi's walls around his heart leaving him open and vulnerable. He was scared of her now, but at the same time he was so happy and relieved she had forgiven him. Now he found he wanted her for himself.

_Sorry little brother. Just this once I need to keep someone for myself._

Sakura thought about Itachi a bit after he left with a red face. She shrugged it off figuring he was just embarrassed to have been on the receiving end of a flower. She couldn't think of another reason. After all, he had come here hating her. He couldn't possibly – No that was a ridiculous notion. There was simply no way Itachi Uchiha could have feelings for her.

_Girl, who do you think you are?_ Sakura internally laughed at the ridiculous notion. _It's not like it was with the other men. The other men probably just enjoyed a little harmless flirting. It was a tease, a game. It wasn't anything more than that._ Though as Sakura took a look around the room at all the flowers she received she wondered if she was in over her head.

-Outside with Itachi-

Itachi had a love struck look on his face as he gazed at the flower Sakura had given him. His rational side told him he looked absurd gazing at a flower in such a way, but it wasn't as simple as that. The flower simply reminded him of the look on Sakura's face. The vulnerable look in her eyes, and the fragile smile on her lips turned into a look of relief and forgiveness when he accepted the tiny flower.

His mistakes were rarely so easily forgiven, even by his own blood. She dismissed his mistake with the acceptance of a flower. As an Uchiha he was expected to be perfect and most of all successful. She hadn't seen an Uchiha. She didn't seem to know who the Uchiha's were.

If Itachi were to court her, he could actually be Itachi instead of an Uchiha. Maybe that's why Sasuke was so drawn to her as well. Either way it didn't matter. She wasn't going to belong to just some Uchiha. She would love Itachi. He would make certain of it.

However unbeknownst to Itachi, there was a pair of angry yet curious white eyes watching him from the time he had left Sakura's house to when his eyes hardened with resolve. The owner of those eyes had no intention of remaining ignorant on the matter for long. No, Neji Hyuuga had never believed in the saying that ignorance is bliss therefore he had every intention of getting answers.

-Back with Sakura-

Sakura was still slightly distressed at Itachi's abrupt arrival and disappearance. Who was she kidding? She's still a total wreck. She wasn't as mad at Itachi as she was at herself. What did she think was going to happen with these men?

Deidara himself had called Naruto and Kiba total playboys. They probably only liked her for the additional competition. She had sounded so confident when she was telling off Itachi, but the confidence vanished with the courage that allowed her to face her fear. She no longer knew what to believe.

Sakura started to openly sob. She had no idea what she was supposed to do. Gaara, Naruto, Kiba, Sasuke, and Deidara were one thing, but Neji was another story. She didn't know how the others acted with women, but Neji didn't play with hearts. If Sakura knew one thing, it was that Neji was serious.

That was what was so horrifying. Neji was someone she cared deeply about and that gave him power over her. It gave him the power to hurt her, and she knew that since he was serious she would probably hurt him along the way as well. It's a rule of life. People you care about can hurt you far more _emotionally _than people you don't give a damn about.

Sakura nearly jumped out of her skin when there was more knocking on the door. She instantly restrained her sobbing and wiped her tears before going to answer the door. Apparently she still took too long.

"Sakura, open the door or I'll have to break it down and replace it later." Neji Hyuuga stated from the other side of the door. He sounded cool as a cucumber. Too bad he wasn't calm at all if he was making threats like that. Sakura rushed to open the door.

When Neji saw the door open he was prepared to question Sakura about what happened with Itachi and if she was alright. His preparation was completely useless the moment he saw Sakura's puffy red eyes and the leftover wetness in them. The need to go kill the condemned in his mind was strong, but Sakura always came first.

Neji gently reached out to cradle her face and wipe at her tears. Sakura broke down and cried into his shoulder. Her obvious distress tore at his heart, but he put his pain aside to see to Sakura's needs, and picked her up bridal style to carry her over to the couch.

He sat on the couch with her in his lap just holding her until she calmed down. Finally he was able to ask the question that burned on his tongue. "Who was the bastard who made you cry?" Neji hissed in and extremely dangerous voice.

"He wasn't the problem. I am. I feel like I'm not sure what to believe anymore. I can't tell if some of my customers are getting serious about me or if they think I'm a tease or a trophy. I know that the ones I actually like all have fan clubs and could have any girl they wanted. I don't understand why they or even you bother with me. Aside from pink hair, I'm so ordinary." Sakura was hushed by a finger on her lips.

She looked up to find Neji looking ticked. "I won't tolerate any badmouthing of you, Sakura. I especially can't accept you speaking negatively about yourself. If you have any doubts about your character or your beauty, tell me now so I can lay them to rest."

"You think I'm pretty?" Sakura asked hesitantly. She looked so defenseless that Neji was rather shocked as he leaned in and placed his lips over hers. He held her around the shoulders but one hand moved slowly down her arm over her hand to take into his and place her palm over his pounding heart. Her touch made his heart skip a beat. When he let his tongue out to taste her lips he shuddered in ecstasy, completely enraptured by her taste, sound, scent, the sight of her in his arms, and the feel of her against his body.

For the first time in his life Neji knew what perfect happiness was. Then it ended as Sakura attempted to pull away. Neji's first instinct was to holder tighter and not let the kiss end, but he let her go for fear of her hating him. He still managed to smile a genuine smile at the fact that her hand was still on his chest, over his heart.

"Does that answer your question? I wouldn't kiss a girl if I wasn't attracted to her. You know that." Neji never knew he could be so happy just from seeing a girl blush.

"I still don't know what to do." Sakura mumbled.

Neji got up and started to make his way to the door. "The first thing you need to do is rest. After that just be true to yourself. That's the only action you need to take. I'll go now so that you can relax. Take care of yourself Sakura." With that he was gone, leaving a much calmer Sakura to fall asleep on her couch because she was too worn out to make it to her bed.


	4. Can't Catch a Break

A/N: Alright people. This is officially the longest chapter I've ever done. You can thank SakuraHarunoxBleach and Mesweet735. The former requested this and Mesweet gave me ideas of what to do with Kiba. Also a big shout-out and thanks to GeekCheerleader for praising my work in her own fanfics. She's an awesome author, loyal fan, and most importantly a great friend. If you don't know who these people are LOOK THEM UP RIGHT NOW! Now then I have chess strategy in here that's known as the rook roller. Though it's not important to the chapter itself in my opinion I'm going to tell you about it anyway. YOU DON'T HAVE TO READ THIS PART OF MY A/N! The rook roller is where you use either both your rooks OR your queen to push the king to the side of the board and corner him. IF you do it right it's very hard to counter this strategy which is why Sasori panics. The strategy Sakura actually uses is one where she traps the king with her two rooks AND her queen. She forces the king between her two rooks and the king has nowhere to go. Then she positions her queen between the two rooks and traps the king. If you can do that it's another very difficult strategy to counter. Chess talk is over now. Take care!

Disclaimer: The characters are not mine!

Creature Café

Chapter 4: Can't Catch a Break

Sakura woke up sore, stiff, and drained. She knew the first two typically came from sleeping on the couch but the last one was undoubtedly from the two encounters with wealthy men. Her mind was hazy and she felt like she couldn't think. For someone who was always proud of their intelligence it was a terrible feeling. She looked at the clock and noticed it was quarter to 4 pm. She grinned for the first time that day. No time like the present for cloud watching.

She felt like she'd been cooped up in her flowery apartment all day. This way she could get out and clear her head in one activity. She quickly changed into a formfitting green sweater that matched her eyes and some light gray yoga pants. The former was bought by Ino as a part of the "investment." She had to make sure she was comfortable to make the experience complete. She grabbed her black hoodie jacket and after running a brush through her hair, washing her face, and grabbing her iPod she was out of there before 4.

The park was absolutely beautiful. The cherry blossoms were blooming and the wind was blowing twisting and molding the clouds into new shapes every few minutes. It wasn't too hot or too cold. In other words it was a perfect spring day. Sakura became sidetracked from her perusal of the day when she noticed that there, under a shady cherry tree, was a young man with a rather strange hairstyle sleeping. When she noticed he was a very _handsome_ man she immediately began to jog-run in the opposite direction. She'd had her fill of all men for the next few years.

After an hour of cloud watching, the weather began to get a little cool for her taste. She knew she had her jacket but if she put it on now she would get too warm. Sakura decided that it might be better to leave since spring nights could get very cold and her jacket wouldn't do much once the sun had completely set.

She was making her way back out of the park when she passed by the cherry trees again and found the same man from before sleeping under the same tree. In fact it looked as if he hadn't moved at all. _Talk about sleeping like a rock._ She knew he could get mad at her if she woke him and that it was none of her business where he slept. However she also knew that it was getting colder and she should probably wake him up anyway.

With those thoughts in mind she went over and tried to shake him awake. The most she got from him was a grunt. She clapped her hands by his ear but he still did not stir. After several more futile attempts to wake him up a thought occurred to her._ Maybe he's really exhausted and needs this sleep._ Sakura was about to leave him be when a chilly wind blew by and caused the man to groan in his sleep. She took a good look at what he was wearing and she could see why. He wore a thin dark gray t-shirt that the wind was probably blowing strait through along with some old and tattered looking jeans with a few holes in them.

Sakura wanted to just leave him be. She wanted to go home, but he looked cold. He was actually starting to curl in on himself. She knew that if she left him now it would plague her conscience. With that in mind she placed her jacket over him and pulled out her iPod so she could listen to music while he slept. If it got too cold she would smack him awake whether her conscience liked it or not.

Sakura shut her eyes as the music began and before long she was quietly singing Katy Perry's Firework. She forgot the world and everyone in it, including the young man behind her who was beginning to regain his senses as he slowly awakened.

Normally Shikamaru would try to go back to sleep once he woke up with nothing important to do. However when a song had entered his dream, he was quickly led back to reality by the beautiful voice. When he regained his senses he became aware of the owner of the voice singing softly to herself. For a long time he just looked at her, stunned by her appearance. He had no idea why she was sitting under the tree with him, but he was certain no one had been there when he had fallen asleep.

She had a very strange effect on Shikamaru that he was in no way familiar with. He felt his entire body relax at the sound of her voice rather than tense at the thought of some stranger intrude on his quiet time. For the first time he was completely at peace while being awake. He supposed if he had to describe what he was feeling it would be absolute contentment. He was so distracted by these foreign emotions that it was another few minutes before he realized the jacket covering him was not his. Slowly he got up and with the jacket in hand he sat beside the petite female with the voice of an angel.

Sakura felt someone sit beside her and swiftly pulled out the ear-buds while silencing her voice. She may not care whether people like her voice or not but that didn't mean she wasn't going to just keep singing and ignore the guy. That would be downright rude. He fidgeted uncomfortably for a second under her curious gaze before he handed her the jacket she had covered him with.

"Thank you for lending me the jacket, but why did you lend it to me? If I may be frank," Shikamaru began before the unknown girl cut in.

"No, it's my turn to be frank." She said in a serious voice before grinning at her own joke. Her grin had to be contagious because Shikamaru found himself smiling as well.

"You're hilarious." He stated with playful sarcasm.

"I try." She replied.

This time Shikamaru did laugh. He was actually enjoying someone's playful banter. It was highly unusual for him but facts were facts.

"What's your name and what compelled you to lend me your jacket? No one's that nice."

"My name is Sakura, but if that's your opinion then I guess I'm no one. I saw you were cold so I lent you my jacket. You weren't waking up for anything short of assault so I figured you were exhausted. Even if it makes me a busybody I did what I could tolerate and if you did something callous or unpleasant in return that would be on you. As you said before we don't know each other so you have less power to hurt me than you would if you were my friend. By the way, I don't believe I caught your name either." Sakura retorted.

"The name's Shikamaru. You said I have less power, meaning I still have some. Why would you risk it?" Shikamaru's curious mind couldn't get enough answers. He had never known anyone to act this way. Yet for every question he asked it seemed she had response.

"I'm capable of defending myself from a physical attack and after the day I've had, I doubt words could hurt me anymore than they already have." At this Sakura smiled slightly though her eyes spoke volumes of her pain. This made Shikamaru instantly regret his question. Yet he couldn't say why since emotions were not his forte. He was a man of the mind through and through, so of course he wouldn't recognize the desire to comfort her. Even if he did acknowledge said desire he had no idea how he would go about comforting her.

Shikamaru rubbed the back of his neck. These feelings were such a drag and he didn't even know what they were. He did know they were responsible for what he was about to say. "Sakura, would you like to have dinner with me, as friends? I'd like to thank you for lending me the jacket."

"I don't know, Shikamaru. I've had a long a day, and judging from how deeply you were sleeping, you have too. Maybe we should wait for a different day."

"That's fine. I need a day to prepare anyway. When are you free?" As usual Shikamaru was one step ahead of the game.

Sakura sighed and gave in. "I'm free tomorrow if you insist."

"I do." Shikamaru wasted no time in replying. With that he stood and helped her up. Suddenly a new thought occurred to him. "You're not walking home alone are you?" Shikamaru questioned.

"Well yeah, I am. Why?" Sakura responded. It was apparently the wrong answer since Shikamaru's face darkened considerably.

"You're not anymore. I'll take you back. It isn't safe for a woman to be out alone after the sun sets. You never know who could be out there."

"Wait a minute Shikamaru! I told you I'm capable of defending myself. You don't need to worry about me." Sakura trailed off when Shikamaru gave her a hard glare. Sakura didn't like being pushed around but something in his eyes told her he wasn't going to back down.

"Sakura, I don't doubt you could defend yourself against an unarmed opponent, but if someone catches you off guard and sticks a gun to your head what would you do then?" Shikamaru's voice was cold and full of pain. His words shocked Sakura. She truly wouldn't know what she would do then but it scared her to think about it.

"You win Shikamaru. You can walk me home alright? I'm sorry if I said something to upset you. Really I am." Sakura apologized in a soft voice and reached out to run her hand up down his arm in a gesture meant to comfort.

Shikamaru looked at Sakura and his expression melted into a softer one without him realizing it. "It wasn't anything you did Sakura. I would tell you about it, but it's still painful for me to just remember it. Talking about it is out of the question, for now at least."

"Alright then why don't we go back to talking about dinner plans? You still haven't told me what we're doing that takes an entire day to prepare." Sakura declared.

"Now Sakura what's the point of a surprise if you talk about it? It'll be much more fun if you have no idea what I'm doing." Shikamaru affirmed. Then he made the mistake of looking at her and nearly had a heart attack. She was pouting and instead of being troublesome he found it to be the most adorable look he'd ever seen in the entire human race. Many actresses strived and failed for the first half of their lives to be so lovable and this girl had mastered it when she couldn't be more than eighteen or nineteen.

"Shikamaru what's wrong?" Sakura inquired worried about him when she saw him turn away so fast she would be surprised if he didn't have whiplash.

_To top it off she has no idea what effect she has on men. Oh man, talk about troublesome._ As Shikamaru was trying to fight down the blush, Sakura shook off her worry, looked up, and watched the clouds a bit trusting him to either tell her what was wrong or deal with it on his own. When Shikamaru fought the heat away from his face he turned to look at Sakura again and felt it climb back up. He just didn't learn did he?

However before he could get too wrapped up in her expression his curious mind reared its head and demanded to know why she was looking up at the sky. "Sakura, what's up with the sky?"

"Oh, I'm just watching the clouds a bit. I was doing it before I lent you my jacket too. It clears my head and calms me down. Not to mention the clouds are beautiful. I never get bored watching them twist and swirl into new shapes and sizes. You may think it ridiculous but finding shapes in the clouds is a kind of magic for me. It always makes me feel better." She sighed running her hand through her hair.

Shikamaru was shocked, yet found himself unfathomably pleased as well. He too loved to watch the clouds. It was like she was reading off the things he enjoyed about cloud-watching. He had always thought he was the only adult who truly enjoyed looking at the clouds. It was practically too good to be true. Here was this woman, beautiful inside and out. She was the most fascinating person he had ever come across. His intellect and heart thrived on just talking to her, and she loved to watch the clouds for the same reasons he did.

He didn't think he would ever find a woman who didn't bore him to death and had given up on meeting one he was attracted to after two minutes of being in their presence. His mind reeled for a moment as he finally had the epiphany he'd been waiting for. He was attracted to Sakura. He liked her more than he liked anyone else he'd ever seen. He liked her way more than he liked himself and about half of that like was more than just friendship. He was certain now. Tomorrow had to be the best night she's ever had. Working hard was always a drag, but Sakura was more than worth it. With those final thoughts they arrived at her apartment.

Sakura turned to him and smiled an unsurprisingly beautiful smile. "Thanks for walking me home Shikamaru. Can I get you anything before you're on your way?" She queried tilting her head to the side.

Another foreign feeling came over Shikamaru. He gave her his number in case something came up, before he decided to get the hell out of there before he did something to ruin their newfound friendship. He never knew it could be so hard just saying goodnight to a girl he barely knew. _I've got to be patient._ He chanted internally all the way back to his own apartment.

-The next day-

Sakura had just eaten an early lunch and was vacuuming up fallen flower petals and leaves when her phone rang. She knew it. She knew something bad was about to happen. Today had been boy free and she knew God would not let her stay that happy for long. When she checked the caller ID her fears were confirmed. It was none other than Ino.

"Ino please don't say what I think you're about to say." Sakura pleaded to no avail.

"Sorry Sakura. I know you needed a little break from the job but a close friend of Deidara's is coming and we _need_ to stay in this man's good graces. Normally this would not require you to come in but he requested someone who was intelligent. Intelligence to this guy is brilliance to other people. You were the first to come to mind."

"Now you're just outright flattering me in the hopes that I'll come in." Sakura deadpanned.

"Is it working?" Ino asked sounding dead tired and highly un-Ino.

"… Give me a half-hour. I'm sure there's something I can where in my closet." Sakura confirmed.

"There's no need for that Sakura." Ino stated. Her voice changed from tired to apprehensive and Sakura found she knew why.

"Ino you didn't." Sakura asserted. There was no way she was working that floor.

"I'm afraid so Sakura. Today you'll be working the top floor, the Penthouse." Ino corroborated.

Sakura sighed. "I can't catch a break. I guess there's nothing I can do since you're the boss. Will you at least tell me how perverted he is?" Sakura requested.

"Sakura you're the best! You don't need to worry. He's more concerned with the art than he is with women. On top of that since I'm calling you in on your break I'll pay you the same for the half day today as I would for a full day!" Ino assured her.

"Let me make another call and I'll be right down." Sakura conceded. She was looking forward to her surprise from Shikamaru but she guessed that would have to wait. She quickly dialed the number he gave her and waited till he picked up. When he did she felt it was best to just give it to him straight.

"Shikamaru, you know how you gave me this number in case something came up?" Sakura began.

"Are you alright?" Shikamaru cut in. His voice was thick with worry. He didn't seem like the type to worry about anything. It caused Sakura to be shocked into silence until he called out to her again, still awaiting her reply.

"I'm fine Shikamaru, but I would be a lot better if work hadn't called to drag me in today." Sakura stated soothingly.

"Well if you don't have any problems with it, I can pick you up from there just as easily." Shikamaru compromised.

"Would you mind?" Sakura questioned sounding as delicate as her namesake. It could melt the heart of man much colder than Shikamaru. He didn't stand a chance.

"I wouldn't mind at all. Just tell me where you work and I'll be there." He guaranteed. Sakura thanked him profusely, told him the address, said her goodbye, and finally hung up. This left Shikamaru to give in to his dread. He knew that address. Ino had been pestering him for a long time to go into that café and the thought of Sakura working there made him want to cringe. It was a well known fact that the shop's patrons were almost always perverted.

Shikamaru decided that for now he would continue to prepare the dinner and when he was done he'd go to the café and protect Sakura as best he could. With that Shikamaru began working out a strategy. After all, using his head is what he did best.

-At the café-

Sakura was walking into the café with 10 minutes to spare before the lunch rush. Checking her watch to make certain she was on time, she made the mistake of not watching where she was going, and ran headlong into what felt like a person shaped brick wall. However when she looked up from where she fell on her rear she found not bricks but a grinning Kiba holding out his hand to help her up. Sakura made the mistake of taking that hand and Kiba's innocent grin turned mischievous. Next thing she knew Kiba had pulled her into an embrace right there in broad daylight.

"K-K-Kiba, what do you think you're doing?" Sakura demanded her voice slightly hysterical. She couldn't believe he was doing this in the _doorway_. His head was buried in her neck while his hands pulled her closer by her hips.

"Why haven't you been returning my calls? I missed you." Kiba's hold suddenly switched from slightly suggestive to romantic as his muscled arms wrapped around her waist and his head lifted from her neck to push his forehead against hers. As his eyes met hers she was shocked and a little frightened by the intense look there.

Sakura was hesitant but she was never a good liar so she told him the truth. "There are several numbers on my phone I don't recognize so I don't know which is which. I wasn't ignoring you intentionally. Besides that I don't know why you would be interested in me. There are many girls in there who are far more beautiful than me."

Kiba released his grip on her but tilted her head up towards his. "I understand now that you don't see yourself very clearly. Don't worry though. I'll show you just how beautiful you really are." With that Kiba spun around and went back inside.

Sakura was stunned at how romantic he was. Then she looked at her watch again and forgot everything but how she needed to be upstairs in two minutes. She began to make her way upstairs when she was nearly toppled over by Deidara's overly enthusiastic glomp.

"Sakura-chan, are you sure you want to do this yeah? I can always assign another woman to wait on Sasori yeah. That prick doesn't even look at the girls anyway. That way you and I could have a nice quiet lunch together, yeah."

"Yamanaka-san, I came here to work and that's exactly what I'll do. Besides Ino-san said that you can't afford to lose this customer and he was specific in what type of girl he wanted. You said his name's Sasori right? Just leave everything to me Yamanaka-san." Sakura wasn't even finished when Deidara pulled her into another hug.

"It's completely unfair that you call Ino by name so easily but I have to beg you to call mine and you will only do so outside of work when I barely get to see you, yeah. Still there's no doubt that you could charm the life out of Sasori, so I guess I have no choice, yeah. If he tries anything call me. I'll be there in a heartbeat." Deidara promised. The lack of "yeah" at the end of his last few sentences showed just how serious he was.

_I'm surprised at how swoon worthy Kiba and Deidara are being. Did they just wake up this morning and take a romance pill or something? Maybe they're sick._ Sakura wondered. Of course if Sakura Haruno were anyone else she would have collapsed into their arms by now. However Sakura, being Sakura, did not faint into the arms of any man.

As Sakura was lost in her inner musings, Deidara looked over her shoulder sensing the presence of pure evil. It could only mean one thing. Sasori was sick of being kept waiting.

"Deidara, I should have known you'd be slacking off. Since you're obviously preoccupied perhaps I should just leave." Deidara heard Sasori's threat loud and clear. 'Get to work or I leave and take my money with me.' That was what Sasori was really saying.

Deidara sighed and gave Sakura a gentle push towards the changing rooms despite his instinct to stand between her and the potential threat known as Sasori Akasuna. When Sasori took a step towards Sakura and attempted to grab her chin Sakura just slapped his hand away. Deidara grinned and Sasori was stunned.

"I assume you are Sasori-sama since Yamanaka-san would only let dear friends or invaluable customers speak to him in such a manner. If he tolerates that kind of talk so be it, but don't think you can get away with breaking the rules of this café. If you wish to dine here then you better obey every rule with the utmost strictness including rule number 1: Don't touch the waitresses. We are here for visual enjoyment and excellent food service, nothing more and nothing less." Sakura told him off.

Sasori looked like he was about to keel over. No one had _ever_ spoken to him in such a way. It was almost too much for him to handle. He found himself extremely angry and somewhat intrigued. Either way he felt the need to put this _waitress_ in her place.

"I see. How about a little wager then? The game is chess. The stakes – let's see – if you win you I'll give you a 25% tip every time I come in, no matter what I buy." He smirked when he saw the desire to win conflicting with her suspicions about this whole ordeal. He decided to make the deal even sweeter. "In addition if you can take my queen in a game, I'll buy you anything you like from this café. That one is a onetime deal."

"What if I lose? What do you get?" Sakura inquired expressing her doubts.

"Since I've made the deal so tempting for you, what I get should be equally tempting for me. What I desire the most right now is obedience. If I win, should I have to send a meal back a hundred times, even if there's nothing wrong with it you will do it. If I'm the most insufferable ass you have ever waited on you will continue to serve me with your head bowed. If I show kindness I expect gratitude rather than attitude." Sasori declared. His smirk widened at the shudder of disgust that ran down her spine. This would be fun.

Deidara didn't like this one bit. He knew what a great player Sasori was. He had no idea how good Sakura was, but Sasori hadn't been beaten since he first learned the game. Lunch was all but forgotten when Sakura spoke before Deidara could stop her.

"How many times do we play before the victor is decided?"

"I think one match should be more than enough to prove a point." Sasori replied.

"Excellent since I don't want to hear the words 'two out of three' or 'it was a fluke' when I win." Sakura asserted causing Sasori to chuckle.

"The same applies to you." Sasori stated. Before Deidara could talk his friend out of it Sasori was leading Sakura upstairs without touching her. Sasori pulled out the chess board in his backpack and set it up so that he was black. Sakura started by moving her pawn two spaces up. He noticed the pawn she moved gave her access to her bishop and queen. _She'll probably move those next._ Sasori refused to fall into her trap by moving his matching pawn and used his knight to move forward. Sakura's face remained blank.

Deciding that this would be a quick game he decided to strike up some conversation to avoid boredom. "What do you think of the painting directly behind me?" He questioned not bothering to hide the tediousness of the game. He saw her eyes twinkle for a second with new light before she put her game face back on.

"The Winding Path in the painting symbolizes life." Sakura spoke with simplicity.

Sasori rolled his eyes at her simple answer. He was surprised when he saw her move another pawn two spaces up rather than her bishop or queen. This one set her rook free. "How do you figure?"

"I'm sure you know exactly what I mean, but since you asked I'll tell you anyway. Life is often compared to a winding path like the one in the painting. Judging from your playing you have an eye for detail, so I'm sure you've noticed how the flowers on each side of the road have gaps in them. They are never on both sides of the road at the same time. One side has flowers while the other has weeds. This symbolizes the good and bad things in life. There are always good things depending on your point of view and where you look. Conversely you can also choose to always see the bad things. If you look at just one side of the road, as most people do, you see both good and bad things. The most important thing is to see the weeds at least once to truly appreciate the flowers. Those who have nothing but good times don't appreciate them. Those who only have bad times have no will to continue the path."

"Did you ever study art?" Sasori asked. He hadn't expected anything so deep. Most girls just giggled at him and talked about how it would be a nice place to go on a walk with him hand and hand if it weren't for those disgusting weeds. Some girls had something less innocent than a walk in mind, the sick bitches. Sakura opened her mouth to speak again and his attention was riveted. Once again the answer was not what he was expecting.

"No, I just love looking for the thoughts of the artist in their paintings. You really should be paying attention to the game you know. You've already lost your queen you know. I'm about to win and I don't want you to miss it."

Sasori looked down horrified that he hadn't been paying attention. His strategy to fend off boredom had worked too well it seemed. When he saw what he had done, what _she_ had done, he was aghast. Her pieces were in the perfect position for the rook roller. His king was caught in between her two rooks while, from the looks of it, she had used her knights to get a hold of his queen and rooks. One of his knights was taken out by her bishop if he recalled correctly. That left him with very few pieces to defend with and little to no hope of winning. He checked and double checked the positions of his remaining pieces and hers. She only had her rooks, her queen, and her king left but that was all it took. She had beaten him.

Before she moved her queen to take the game entirely he preserved what little dignity he had left and knocked his king over. (That mean's "You win" in chess language for those who don't understand.) He looked up expecting to find her laughing at him, but was shocked for the umpteenth time when she was just smiling at him. Sasori felt his cheeks heat up and he looked away. It was the first smile he'd gotten from her and he finally noticed just how breath taking she was.

"Good game Sasori-sama. I better get to work now." Sakura stated patting his shoulder in a friendly way. They now had a mutual respect for each other's intelligence which made it much easier to be nice to him. Sasori felt a wave of pleasant tingles shoot their way down his spine and back up _almost_ causing him to shiver. He knew he was attracted to her, but this was a little ridiculous.

From the corner of the room Deidara watched with a deep frown as Sasori asked Sakura about treating her. That damn ginger was moving in on _his_ girl. Deidara felt the need to make things clear, so he started to make his way towards them. The moment Sakura was in reach Deidara hauled her into his side.

"Great game Sakura-chan, yeah!" Deidara found having her under his arm immediately banished the resentment towards his friend. It was replaced by a silly giddiness at having her so close.

Sakura didn't even blush as she brushed his arm off and when to get into "uniform." Deidara sighed as he watched her walk away. Sasori was disturbed at seeing his friend so love struck. Disturbed turned into frustrated jealousy very quickly. Sasori didn't like it. He didn't like the way they looked at her. All the men in the room had their eyes glued to her like she was just some hot piece of ass. Deidara was bad enough but at least he respected women. These perverts were just looking for some slut.

Sakura wasn't like that. She didn't try to seduce Sasori for his money or looks. She beat him at his own game for money and didn't seem to give a damn about the outer shell of the human body. Funny Sasori suddenly wanted to kill Deidara's clients. She was a beautiful and complex puzzle of a human and he wanted to spend all his time trying to figure her out.

Sasori shook his head. What the hell was he thinking? He didn't want a relationship. Even if he was attracted to her those thoughts made him sound like he was in love. Now that was preposterous. He was far too busy to be in love. Besides even if she was intelligent, beautiful, complex and deeper than the ocean – Why did he not want to fall for her again?

Sakura had been on the job since her game with Sasori three hours ago. Everything was going smoothly, but Sasori had mysteriously disappeared. She hoped it wasn't because of her. She was on her way to bring coffee to Kiba (who was now a regular) when a man's arm suddenly shot out in front of her in a wild gesture.

Sakura tried to hold back the cry of pain, but failed. Kiba sure liked his coffee hot. Speak of the devil he was rushing towards her now. Kiba reached out and grabbed her uninjured hand rushing her towards the kitchen. The moment they got there he turned on the faucet and gingerly took her burnt hand to place it under the water.

"Does it still hurt?" He asked her like a shy school boy.

"I'm okay Kiba." She reassured him.

"Don't scare me like that, Angel. I heard you scream and I thought my heart stopped." Kiba inquired pulling her into a hug. His face had reddened considerably at his actions but he did not let her go. Sakura tried to push away but Kiba still held on as if he didn't even feel it.

"Sakura" Sakura's and Kiba's heads shot up at the infuriated voice. Shikamaru was not happy.


	5. Stalkers and Gossip

A/N: Let me start off by saying I know it's short, but it's better than nothing I hope. The next chapter will be longer. For those of you who actually read the a/n I'd like to say life has been difficult recently. I'm discovering the many ups and downs of life at far too fast a pace in my opinion. One day you're enjoying the simple pleasure of admiring your dragon collection the next you have to start helping a family friend get comfortable because his time is coming… Yeah that's why I've been having trouble finding time to upload this. Enough about sorrows though. Go enjoy the chapter.

Disclaimer: The characters are not mine!

Chapter 5: Stalkers and Gossip

Since he first met Sakura yesterday, Shikamaru has been experiencing new feeling after new feeling, with all of them revolving around her. The strongest emotion coursing through him now was rage. It had started as an intense burning in his gut the moment he laid eyes on this stranger who was holding Sakura. When he saw Sakura pushing against her captor the burn turned into a full blown wildfire that spread throughout his body. Adrenaline acted like kerosene spreading the flames and making them burn even hotter. Shikamaru felt like he could break brick walls but at the same time this emotional turmoil he was experiencing made him nauseous. Ignoring the fury he felt at someone daring to force their selfish desires on Sakura, he stepped forward with his poker face and freed her from the creep's grasp.

Kiba was trying to figure out who this guy was when the stranger ripped Sakura out of his arms to cradle her against his own chest. It then became obvious. The man attempting to glare him down was yet another one of Sakura's suitors. The question now was how to get rid of him.

"Are you alright Sakura?" Shikamaru murmured to her after placing her safely behind him. He quickly turned back around to look at the man who had Sakura mere seconds ago and resumed glaring at him. He didn't know this guy and trusted him about as much as Batman trusted the Joker. For all he knew he could be some nut job serial rapist or something along those lines.

"I'm fine Shikamaru. I'm certain Kiba didn't mean any harm." Sakura reassured going around Shikamaru and giving him a curious look. "What brings you here? It's not even 5:00 yet."

Kiba smirked because he took what she said to mean she hadn't wanted to be interrupted. Shikamaru smirked back at him while he replied to Sakura. "All the preparations for our dinner are set, so I decided to check on you. Whenever you're ready to leave I'll be on the second floor having some coffee."

Kiba immediately stiffened. What did he mean _our dinner_? Check on you? Who the hell did this guy think he was? Did Sakura agree to this or was he forcing her? He had to be forcing her. She was just in his arms a moment ago. She hadn't been expecting this guy and he just showed up uninvited. A stalker, he had to be a stalker. His poor Sakura was being stalked by this dude. The thought infuriated him beyond reasoning.

"Sakura won't be going anywhere with a stalker like you!" Kiba barked.

"Huh?" Sakura and Shikamaru questioned at the same time, but Kiba either ignored it or didn't notice. Kiba was heavily muscled so it surprised the other two people in the room when, in a blur of motion, he shoved Shikamaru aside and pulled Sakura to him. Neither suspected that someone that big could move so fast. If looks could kill both men would be dead and buried.

"Last time I checked, customers weren't allowed to be in the kitchen or touch the workers." Oh Deidara was beyond upset. Sakura knew that the lack of "yeahs" meant he was ready to throw down if necessary. Sakura gave the men playing tug-of-Sakura a cold glare that clearly said "knock it off." Normally neither of the men fighting over Sakura would care about what the owner had to gripe about, but at the same time, they knew that if they were banned from the café then they would not be able to properly protect Sakura from the other perverts that inhabited this place. What was worse was that the overall amount of time they could spend with Sakura would be cut in half at the very least. Neither wanted to submit to the Tinkerbelle wannabe, but they would not tolerate lessening their Sakura time. With all the dignity of kicked puppies they left the kitchen with Kiba pouting and Shikamaru grumbling the whole way.

Deidara turned to Sakura and engulfed her in a hug. "How is it you drive me so insane? I've never wanted to hit customers so much in my entire life until you came along. Why am I so out of control with you?" Deidara said in a dead serious and completely vulnerable voice that was the opposite of the Deidara she knew. Sakura's head was tucked under his chin so she could not read his expression and learn just how obsessed with her he really was.

After realizing that there were no perverted intentions in Deidara's hug she very hesitantly returned it. Deidara felt a wave of delight wash over him and decided now would be a good time to look deep into her eyes and possibly kiss her. When he allowed her to raise her head he was surprised to see a mirthful gleam in her eyes.

"It's the kitty ears. It gets them every time." She responded playfully before she left Deidara chuckling in the kitchen. He put his hand to his forehead, thinking of how there was no one in this world who had ever made him feel so alive.

"I guess that's why, yeah."

-5:00 pm that day-

"Sakura thank you so much!" Ino screeched while engulfing Sakura in a bear hug.

"It's alright Ino. I'm glad I could help." Sakura responded not seeing Shikamaru making his way towards her.

"So Sakura what do you say to a night on the town? I know some great clubs!" As soon as she got the words out Sakura was snatched away from her and when she looked to see the culprit, she was infinitely surprised to find Shikamaru. He smirked at her.

"Sorry Ino. Sakura and I have plans. You'll have to reschedule." He declared nonchalantly. Ino on the other hand was questioning her sanity. Shikamaru, brilliant yet socially challenged Shikamaru, was going out willingly? Ino began to wonder when she jumped into a wormhole that took her to an alternate universe when she realized this was no time to be thinking! There was gossip to be had!

"Tell me Shika, when did you two get so cozy? Spill it." Ino demanded with a smile that could put the Cheshire cat to shame. Sakura was kind of freaked seeing Ino's face split like that. Shikamaru just sighed.

"What a drag. There's nothing to spill." Shikamaru assured. With that he and Sakura got out of there before Ino could speculate anymore.

"We'll see about that Shika." Ino muttered with devious intent.

"Hey Sakura, do you need to do anything before we get going or do you want to leave right away?" He inquired.

"I definitely need to go home and change. Where can I meet you?" Sakura replied.

Shikamaru smirked at her. "If you can come to the park then just follow the path until you see me. Then we can move on to dinner."

"Alright give me thirty minutes and I'll be there." She was surprised when his smirk melted into a gentle smile. It was a sight that had Sakura's cheeks turning pink and before she knew what she was doing she walked away to hide her blush. "See you in thirty minutes." She called over her shoulder.

"Count on it Sakura." Shikamaru murmured before walking off to his car. He had a dinner to set up.


	6. Calm Before the Storm

A/N: Okay I just finished this chapter and I've had a very long day. If you want to hear my reasons for why everything took so long feel free to pm me tomorrow. If you really couldn't care less then please enjoy the chapter!

Disclaimer: The characters and the series they are from are not mine!

**Chapter 6: Calm Before the Storm**

Dinner with Shikamaru was as easy as breathing. Shikamaru had surprised her with sandwiches filled with things he had prepared. A variety of cheese, slow cooked meats, and fresh fruits and veggies decorated the deceptively simple sandwiches. Shikamaru turned out to be an incredible cook but didn't want anything to ruin the atmosphere of a picnic dinner thus he stuck to sandwiches.

They watched the sun set while they finished off the main course, after which Shikamaru surprised her yet again with two slices of the café's famous chocolate cake. Sakura could have died a happy woman on the spot after being able to taste the chocolaty delight.

It was over all too soon. After the sun had completely set and they began to make their way to Sakura's apartment complex, she began to shiver from the night chill which resulted in Shikamaru enfolding her in his jacket for a little added warmth and promptly encouraged her to walk faster by doubling his pace. 5 minutes after having to jog to keep up with him Sakura was overcome by a playful compulsion.

"Let's race." Before that sentence was even finished she was sprinting ahead toward her apartment. Shikamaru released a stunned bark of a laugh and took off right after her.

As Sakura's apartment came into view Shikamaru was struck by the symbolism of the moment. He noticed that it could be applied to past or future, but for now he was all about the present.

-In Sakura's apartment-

As Sakura finished preparing for bed she noticed she had a missed call from an unfamiliar number. She didn't want to listen to it – she was in desperate need of sleep – but she knew she wouldn't be able to truly rest until she found out who called her.

She glared at her phone before holding it up to her ear to listen. Gaara's rough yet pleasantly soothing voice practically cooed to her in the voice mail. She had never heard the redhead use such a gentle and affectionate tone.

"Sakura, keep your schedule free this weekend. You and I should meet up outside the café once in a while. Please be ready to go by 11 am on Saturday and wear something comfortable. See you then."

She was dumbfounded and of all the thoughts and feelings that she should be experiencing in that moment – among them being indignation at being told what to do and confusion at how he got her number – all she could think before her eyes slipped shut was _see you Saturday, Gaara._

-The next morning at the café-

Ino was a bit concerned now. Okay she was flat out worried. At the start of Sakura's employment and Deidara's slight obsession with her, it all seemed like such a good idea. She'd invited wealthy geniuses and the heirs to multimillion dollar corporations to the café in the hopes that with the addition of the innocent Sakura, their view of the café would change and they would be more inclined to frequent it. Her plan had worked a little too well.

The near constant visits of men who were known to be busy beyond all reason had attracted attention from the worst possible source. Now it was the little pinkette they had grown so fond of that was going to have to pay for it. Pein Ame was coming to the café and had requested to see Sakura specifically. He would be bringing a few business partners with him as well, Itachi Uchiha and Sasori Akasuna among the names he'd listed.

_It's my fault._ Ino's thoughts had been like a broken record ever since Deidara looked at her with a broken expression – possibly expressing the state of his heart – and something very close to fear in his eyes. In the same way Sakura could attract men, Pein could attract women. Sakura was very easy to love. Pein was too. He was a man that women could see themselves settling down with. It was a shame that Pein had no love or respect for women whatsoever.

He was a gentleman no matter the circumstances, a scholarly individual whose deep thinking could have an entire room hanging on his every word. Pein oozed charisma and loved making people laugh. He was so easy to love that even those who knew of his contempt for women kind believed they could change his mind, but the relationship would always end in tears. None of said tears would belong to Pein.

Deidara had switched from sad to angry as he went to his office and slammed the door. Seconds later came the sound of heavy objects crashing to the floor and several shattering noises. Ino knew how he felt. Pein was the most powerful man in the Japanese business world. If they wanted their dream café to stay open Sakura would have to play the sacrificial lamb.

-That Saturday-

Sakura had to fight the urge to chuckle when she saw him. Gaara sat at a nearby bench directly in front of her apartment building up to his eyeballs in paperwork. The serious look on his face was identical to the look he had worn when she had first seen him at the café as he tried to simultaneously work and tune out Naruto.

When she got a closer look at him, though, her smile faded. The black lining his eyes had darkened and thickened. She'd heard rumors around the café that Gaara was at his most irritable when the rings around his eyes were like that. Despite her fellow waitress' horror stories Sakura only felt concern instead of fear.

Not wanting to startle him she made certain her footsteps were audible. Then he looked at her and she nearly melted on the spot. He brightened like the sun that had just come out from behind a blanket of clouds. Not just the rings on his eyes but his entire posture and presence immediately spoke of relief and delight at seeing her. She had never witnessed such a dramatic change in a person and being the cause of it made her go red from her slightly oversized forehead to the base of her neck.

Her blush, adorable and alluring all at once, caused Gaara to chuckle. Sakura had to look away she was so embarrassed. The throaty laughter was deep, rich, and all male with a slight rasp at the end. That rasp let Sakura know that it had been a long time since he last laughed and the thought would have brought tears to her eyes if she wasn't so determined to appear strong.

She had noticed it after Shikamaru and Kiba had their confrontation with Deidara. All three had been over-the-top and she felt the reason was that they saw her as someone who needed protecting. It seemed to her that most guys saw someone weak and emotional when looking at her and by Sakura Haruno's book that was unacceptable. In the dojo she had trained in for half her life, everyone knew she was a force to be reckoned with, and even the highest ranks respected her skill, precision, and her ability to turn her opponent's strength against them.

As Sakura continued to give herself a pep talk, Gaara noticed that her attention was no longer on him. Finding that unacceptable for reasons he still wasn't able to admit or even feel comfortable with, he grasped her hand. Bringing that hand to his lips he slowly brushed his lips over her knuckles. A smug smirk curled his mouth when her eyes immediately flew to his and her blush returned. After giving her arm a few gentle tugs to urge her to follow him to his car.

When Sakura gasped in delight he turned to find her looking like a kid on Christmas morning. He looked over his Ultimate Aero then shifted his attention back to Sakura, his car, Sakura, his car, and when he looked at Sakura again his decision was made. He held out his offering to her and the look of reverence she gave him for the simple gesture melted his ice cold heart on the spot. With nearly trembling hands she grasped the keys and held them to her like a priceless gift she would cherish forever.

He smiled warmly at her helping her get settled in the driver's seat and giving her a quick rundown on the controls. As it turned out, she knew almost as much about it as he did himself, so when she was done delighting in his car and he was done delighting in her he finally told her his plans for the day.


	7. Chapter 7: Eye of the Hurricane

A/N: It's short I know, but I'm going to try to have more up by late December if not sooner.

Disclaimer: The characters and Naruto in general are not mine!

**Chapter 7: Eye of the Hurricane**

Gaara was a man who played as hard as he worked. After taking Sakura rock climbing he introduced her to archery. Being that Sakura was a newbie he had his arms around her at least half the time making Sakura blush like an idiot. She would have stayed blushing too if not for the fact that his teaching methods proved successful when she hit the target for the first time. She had been so excited she'd hugged him. That had caused Gaara to blush big time which Sakura found quite adorable.

Never would Sakura have believed that a business man could crave so much action. After they left the archery range Gaara encouraged Sakura to take his car out to the edge of town and let loose on the horse power. Sakura could have kissed him for it. She would have definitely died from embarrassment but the point is she could have kissed him.

As Sakura sped along the towns perimeter Gaara cranked up some music. Sakura noticed that while he didn't seem to hate any music, he absolutely loved Indie Rock. Where ever they were going, he made it clear to her he was in no hurry.

She probably would have driven for hours upon hours if her stomach hadn't kicked up a fuss, spurring Gaara into activating his GPS and having it guide them to a nearby sushi bar. Sakura was surprised to see it was a hole-in-the-wall kind of place, and when she gave him a questioning stare he smiled at her and nudged her forward.

Once they were inside and Gaara had secured one of their few booths for privacy Sakura's curiosity could not be put off any longer. "Okay, as delighted as I am that we're not in some over the top 5 star restaurant, I have to know how you even found this place. I almost drove right past it! How does a place like this attract the heir to a massive fortune and not to mention a very successful company as well? What made you set even one foot in this place?"

Gaara shrugged. "It's because I'm going to inherit the company and the fortune that I came here. Do you know the term 'there's no such thing as bad publicity?' The paparazzi use that as an excuse to invade every aspect of their target's life. Everyone needs a place where they can just get away. Whereas most in my position look for the high class restaurants and clubs and such, I look for places that don't draw the eye. Places that no one would ever expect me to go in." Gaara stated doing his best not to show his delight at her interest in him.

"I see. That makes a lot of sense, especially when your personality is taken into consideration." Sakura replied. "Can I ask you something Gaara?" Gaara grinned and Sakura immediately noticed her mistake. "Besides that, I mean." She corrected herself.

"Sakura, you are the only person who can ask me anything and still expect an answer. Ask away." He responded.

"Why me?" Two little words, that's it, but they carried a mountain's worth of weight.

Before Gaara could respond there was suddenly a huge surge of noise at the front of the restaurant. When the noise not only persisted but grew more frantic Gaara felt the first tinge of worry. His worry proved justified when he heard a sound that made his blood run cold. The distinct _click_ of a camera shutter was a roar of thunder in a buzzing hornet's nest.

Thinking fast Gaara ducked under the table and managed to get Sakura to do the same. He was immediately thankful to the little sushi place for always trying to make his meal "special" by putting out a table cloth and a candle. While it still stood out in the room, the camera man would probably find an "empty" table boring.

"Gaara what's going on?" Sakura demanded.

"The paparazzi found us after all." Gaara replied morosely. When he saw Sakura's face pale he made a decision that would cost him his little hide away. It stung but remembering how much fun he'd had with her made it impossible to regret a single thing about the day. He told Sakura to wait casually at the table once he caught the reporters' eyes and led them away. He'd loop around to pick her up as soon as he lost them.

Sakura thought this was a bad idea, but seeing as she couldn't offer a better one, she agreed with a solitary nod. Before she had time to process what he was doing Gaara leaned in to give her a quick kiss on the cheek.

"We'll have our first real kiss in a much better setting." He whispered to her before he disappeared to draw the paparazzi away. Sakura's face was as red as it could be which she found utterly ridiculous. It wasn't like a cheek kiss was anything new or worth blushing over, but Gaara had such a reverent look in his eyes when he leaned in. The brush of his lips was so soft and tender it was almost as if she were his first love and he was scared of ruining it.

Sakura doubted that was the case but his attitude towards her was so new and strange to her. Any guy who'd expressed tender feelings to her before seemed so experienced. There were times when Gaara was just as out of his element as she was and that surprised her.

The paparazzi noise was fading when she heard someone climb into the booth and sit at the table she was under. This was awkward.

"You can come out now, Miss Haruno. They're gone." A baritone voice stated in a smooth as melted chocolate tone of voice that probably weakened the knees of any woman who heard it. Sakura stayed tensed and ready to run as she slowly climbed out from under the table.

Across from her sat a man who was as handsome as he was a visual shock. She'd never seen so many piercings before. He wore them in such a way that she couldn't help but think he not only pulled them off but they even suited him. His apparent sex appeal aside, his smile was gentlemanly but his eyes, his silver eyes ringed in dark gray were glacier cold.

"Hello Miss Haruno. You may call me Pein."


End file.
